Yadea, a company that offers a wide range of electric vehicles including tricycles, skateboards and e-bikes, brings its latest designs to the expo. Photo: Liu Caiyu/GT

Chinese bicycle producers are showcasing their latest products at the nation's largest bicycle industry expo in Shanghai, aiming to solidify their position as the industry's leading force in terms of global supply. With reliable and comprehensive supply chains, as well as innovative technologies, they are poised to continue to drive the future of the bicycle market.

On Sunday, the first day of the expo, bicycle fans were attracted to the booth of Shenzhen-based brand Xidesheng with its high-end customized products, hoping to have a peek and experience the latest designs of this company. The expo will run till Wednesday. 

"We offer high-end custom products that incorporate national trend elements, like pandas in Chengdu, and integrate elements from Xi'an into our bicycle products," Yi Zhao, brand manager at Xidesheng, told the Global Times. 

He said customers have the opportunity to personalize their products by selecting their preferred paint and assembling their favorite accessories, placing a custom order through the official website. Delivery typically takes one to two months.

Besides that, a smart electric bicycle produced by Xidesheng that integrates the Huawei HarmonyOS won the gold award for the Creative Award Selection at the expo. 

China's bicycle manufacturers are setting the global trend in the industry with new products such as cutting-edge low-wind resistance road bikes, innovative electric bikes and children's bikes without training wheels. 

A children's bikes specialist company named Royal Baby revealed to the Global Times that its patented bikes do not require training wheels, unlike traditional models that can potentially harm children's spines. According to Tong Lixin, its founder, even children as young as 2-3 years old can learn to ride on their own without parental assistance or training. 

Children's bike specialist Royal Baby showcases models without training wheels at the expo in Shanghai on May 5, 2024. Photo: Liu Caiyu/GT

Yadea, a company that offers a wide range of electric vehicles including tricycles, skateboards and e-bikes, is set to launch an electric-powered bike in the US and Japan that features sensors and a controller with an algorithm to calculate calories burned during rides in coming months. 

China is the world's largest producer of bicycles and electric bicycles, with annual trade accounting for about 60 percent of the world's total. In recent years, although the industry has been challenged by destocking in the European and US markets, production and sales of Chinese bicycles remained high, the China Bicycle Association told the Global Times on Sunday.

Data provided by the association showed that in 2023, a total of 48.83 million bicycles were produced and 39.648 million were exported. Production of electric bicycles stood at 50.35 million, with exports of 4.17 million.

Due to the destocking trend in the West, exports have fallen, but driven by the global pursuit of low-carbon travel, bicycle producers in China are still optimistic about the global market. 

Zang Jiajia, a deputy manager of the e-bike department for Yadea, told the Global Times that "the trend of bicycles becoming electric powered continues to grow. For example, the market for electric tricycles overseas will grow exponentially."

Compared with other countries, China possesses great advantages from the supply chain perspective, with the upstream and downstream sectors having gained a lot of experience and improvement in the past 20 years. Though several brands in India are also rising, producers from China are irreplaceable, Zang noted. 

Shimy Viskovski, an Italian for a cargo cycle brand, looks forward to having a taste of more cutting-edge designs among Chinese producers. "All my cargo bicycles are made in China and with China's stable supply chain, and gradual higher quality, we're taking the products beyond Italy to Israel as well," Viskovski told the Global Times.